Smithline



Oct. 4, 1955 J. SMlTHLlNE 2,719,594

STETHOSCOPES Filed Jan. 3. 1952 INVEN TOR. JACOB s/w THL/NE 14 T TOR/V15 Y STETHOSCOPES Jacob Smithline, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application January 3, 1952, Serial No. 264,697

3 Claims. (Cl. 181-24) This invention relates to stethoscopes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination Ford and Bowles stethoscope of improved construction which constitutes relatively few and simple parts, is easy to use and can be manufactured at a comparatively low cost.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination Ford and Bowles stethoscope having a rugged and compact construction and which is eflicient in operation to a high degree.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a combination Ford and Bowles stethoscope which provides a louder and clearer sound indication than heretofore.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide novel and improved means to selectively employ the Ford bell or the Bowles chamber by merely flipping the stethoscope about the tube, said means being simple in construction and operation.

Other objects of the invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement United States Patent of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described and illustrated, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. l is a side view of a stethoscope constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top view thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates a stethoscope embodying the present invention. Said stethoscope includes a metal valve body 12 of generally cubical shape. The front face 14 of the body has integrally and centrally formed thereon a raised and threaded boss 16. The rear face 18 of the body likewise is provided with an integral raised and threaded boss 20. The two bosses 16, 20 are in registry and are provided with straight passageways 22, 24 of the same diameter. Said passageways are aligned and extend inwardly along a line passing through the center of the valve body, the passageways being perpendicular to the parallel faces '14, 18 of said body. The passageways may be formed by a simple drilling operation. Desirably, the outer end of one of the passageways, e. g. the passageway 24, is chamfered, as at 26, for a reason which later will be apparent.

The inner ends of the two passageways 22, 24 terminate at a central cylindrical valve cavity 28 the axis of symmetry of which intersects and is perpendicular to the aligned longitudinal axes of the bores 22, 24. The cylindrical cavity extends entirely through the valve body from the side face 30 to the opposite bottom face 32 thereof.

A hollow cylindrical tube 34 snugly fits into the cavity "ice ,Said tube is adapted to have frictionally fitted on the bottom thereof a conventional rubber tubing 36 which extends to the usual aural fork (not shown) for connection to ear pieces.

The tube is retained in the cavity 28 as follows: the top of the tube is tapped to receive a threaded plug 38 having a head 40 rotatably seated on the base of a recess 42 in the top of said valve body.

The top of the tube projects slightly above the base of the recess, a shoulder 43 on the tube serving to prevent the tube from shifting upwardly. Said shoulder abuts against the base of a recess 44 on the bottom face of the valve body. The tube is assembled with the stethoscope by insertion into the cavity and screwing in of the plug. The tube is rotatable in the cavity and the plug cannot be tightened so much as to impede such rotation because part of the tube projects above the base of the recess 42.

The tube 34 is provided with a passageway 46 perpendicular to its vertical bore and arranged to be aligned selectively with either passageway 22 or 24 by rotation of the stethoscope. The plug does not reach the passageway 46.

Means is provided on the head of the plug to-stop rotation of the tube in one direction with passageways 46 and 22 aligned, and in the other direction with passageways 46 and 24 aligned. Said means constitutes a pin 48 extending radially from the plug head 40 and adapted to abut a side wall 50 of the opening 42 on either side of said head.

The stethoscope includes a Ford bell 51 made from a synthetic plastic, e. g., an acrylic resin or a phenol formaldehyde condensate. The bell has a flaring head 60 the outwardly facing side of which is formed in the shape of a large rounded depression 54. The inwardly facing side of the bell is provided with a tapped bore that meshes with the threaded boss 16. Said bore communicates with a passageway 56 that extends inwardly from the center of the rounded depression 54 and is aligned with the passageway 22.

Mounted on the other boss 20 is a Bowles chamber 58 which includes a head 60 having a central tapped aperture 62 that meshes with the threaded boss 20. The outwardly facing side of the head is fashioned with a series of stepped concentric annular concave surfaces 64 centering about the aperture 62. The smallest of these annular surfaces has a diameter slightly larger than that of said aperture and is connected therewith by a chamfered surface 66. The counterbore 26 approximately constitutes a continuation of this surface. The head 60 is of a circular configuration and its rim is threaded to receive a tapped collar 68 that presses a sound diaphragm 70 against the forwardly facing side of the head. The inwardly facing side of the head is plane and is parallel to a plane including the axis of symmetry of the cavity and the longitudinal axis of the tube 34.

When passageway 46 is aligned with passageway 22, the Ford bell is operative and sound picked up by it will be heard at the earphones. When passageway 46 is aligned with passageway 24, the Bowles chamber will be operative. Either the hell or chamber can be used by simple rotation of the stethoscope while holding the tube 34 stationary. The stop will insure selection of an operative position.

It thus will be seen that there has been provided a stethoscope which achieves all the objects of the invention and is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative an not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described the invention, there is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A stethoscope comprising a valve body, a bell for local auscultation, a chamber having an opening covered by a sounding diaphragm for general auscultation, means to detachably secure said bell and chamber to opposite sides of said valve body, said body having passageways extending inwardly thereof from said bell and chamber, said passageways being in alignment, said body having a cylindrical cavity the axis of symmetry of which intersects the longitudinal axes of said passageways and is perpendicular thereto, said passageways communicating with said cavity, a hollow tube rotatable in said cavity, enlargements on said tube, one enlargement being located near the top of the tube and abutting the top face of the valve body and the other enlargement being located below the valve body and abutting the bottom face thereof, whereby the tube is retained in said cavity, said tube having a transverse passageway communicating with the interior of the tube, said transverse tube passageway lying in that longitudinal plane of the passageways in the valve body which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube, and means to stop rotation of the tube with its passageway selectively aligned with either of the passageways in the valve body whereby either the bell or the chamber may be rendered operative by rotation of the tube.

2. A stethoscope comprising a valve body, a bell for local auscultation, a chamber having an opening covered by a sounding diaphragm for general auscultation, means to detachably secure said bell and chamber to opposite sides of said valve body, said body having passageways extending inwardly thereof from said bell and chamber, said passageways being in alignment, said body having a cylindrical cavity the axis of symmetry of which intersects the longitudinal axes of said passageways and is perpendicular thereto, said passageways communicating with said cavity, a hollow tube rotatable in said cavity, enlargements on said tube, one enlargement being located near the top of the tube and abutting the top face of the valve body and the other enlargement being located below the valve body and abutting the bottom face thereof, whereby the tube is retained in said cavity, said tube having a transverse passageway communicating with the interior of the tube, said transverse tube passageway lying in that longitudinal plane of the passageways in the valve body which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube, and means to stop rotation of the tube with its passageway selectively aligned with either of the passageways in the valve body whereby either the hell or the chamber may be rendered operative by rotation of the tube, said stop means comprising a pin abutting a vertical wall on the top of the valve body when the tube passageway is aligned with either passageway in the valve body.

3. A stethoscope comprising a valve body, a bell for local auscultation, a chamber having an opening covered by a sounding diaphragm for general auscultation, means to detachably secure said bell and chamber to opposite sides of said valve body, said body having passageways extending inwardly thereof from said bell and chamber, said passageways being in alignment, said body having a cylindrical cavity the axis of symmetry of which intersects the longitudinal axes of said passageways and is perpendicular thereto, said passageways communicating with said cavity, a hollow tube rotatable in said cavity, the tube projecting slightly above the top of the valve body, a plug screwed into the top of the tube, said plug having a head seated on top the the valve body, whereby the tube is retained in the cavity against downward movement, a shoulder on said tube, said shoulder being seated on the bottom of the valve body whereby to prevent movement of the tube upwardly, said tube having a transverse passageway communicating with the interior of the tube, said transverse tube passageway lying in that longitudinal plane of the passageways in the valve body which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube, and means to stop rotation of the tube with its passageway selectively aligned with either of the passageways in the valve body whereby either the bell or the chamber may be rendered operative by rotation of the tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 965,174 Fuchs July 26, 1910 1,708,398 Pilling May 5, 1927 2,271,467 Smithline Jan. 27, 1942 2,505,124 Lepeschkin Apr. 25, 1950 2,513,827 Tynan July 4, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES Pilling & Son Co., Catalog of Instruments and Appaparatus for Surgeons and Hospitals, 1932-1933 edition, page 155. 

